The Thing (art project)
Encyclopedia
The Thing is an international net-community of artists and art-related projects that was started in 1991 by Wolfgang Staehle
. The Thing was launched as a mailbox system accessible over the telephone network in New York feeding a Bulletin Board System
(BBS) in 1991 before their website was launched in 1995 on the World Wide Web
. By the late 1990s, The Thing grew into a diverse online community made up of dozens of members' Web sites, mailing lists, a successful Web hosting service, a community studio in Chelsea (NYC), and the first Web site devoted to Net Art: bbs.thing.net.
(BBS) focusing on contemporary art and cultural theory. In 1990, the writer and critic Blackhawk (having recently produced the film Cyberpunk
) taught Wolfgang Staehle many of the abilities he needed to start the original The Thing BBS. Blackhawk was the first person Staehle turned to after conceiving the idea for an electronic culture resource based on the model of Joseph Beuys
's Social sculpture
. Blackhawk and Wolfgang jointly set up the editorial structure of the original BBS and planned for many of the then experimental activities that took place. Other people who helped develop and shape the content of the early BBS included Josefina Ayerza
, Dike Blair
, Donald Newman, Jordan Crandall, David Platzker, Josh Decter, Rainer Ganahl
, Julia Scher
, Barry Schwabsky, Morgan Garwood, Franz von Stauffenberg and Benjamin Weil.
A second node, The Thing Cologne, was added in 1992, followed by The Thing Vienna in November 1993. Nodes in Berlin and elsewhere were soon to follow.
. Credits on the 1995 website also name Nicky Chaikin, John F. Simon Jr.
, Wolfgang Staehle
, Rob Keenan, Darryl Erentzen and John Rabasa.
In 1995 The Thing set up an independent art network with hardware of its own that offered arts communities ways to establish themselves, to send information to one another and also to conceive of new artistic practices deriving from conceptual art
and from performance art
. The idea was that working with the Internet was a way to operate around the institutions of art distribution of the day.
In 1998 Max Kossatz designed The Thing Communicator a website mimicking many functions of the original BBS including member login, chat and messaging.
The most interactive area of The Thing consisted of various message boards offering forums for art theory debate, news and gossip, ongoing dialogue and an open-access flow of information as well as several online versions of art journals.
Alongside discussion forums The Thing has offered artworks in the form of graphics
downloadable to the home personal computer
– for example by Peter Halley
.
, made up of individuals from diverse backgrounds with a wide range of expert knowledge. From this social hub, The Thing has built an array of programs and initiatives, in both technological and cultural networks. During its first five years, TT became widely recognized as one of the founding and leading online centers for new media
culture. Its activities include hosting artists' projects and mailing lists - as well as publishing cultural criticism.
The Thing has also organized many public events and symposia on such topics as the state of new media
arts, the preservation of online privacy, artistic innovations in robotics
, and the possibilities of community empowerment through wireless technologies.
In 1997, thing.net communications, LLC, an Internet Service Provider (ISP) was incorporated by Wolfgang Staehle, Gisela Ehrenfried and Max Kossatz. The ISP was to provide a financial backbone for The Thing Inc. (a 501 c 3 non profit organization). thing.net has hosted arts and activist groups and publications including P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Artforum
, Mabou Mines
, Willoughby Sharp
Gallery, Zingmagazine
, Journal of Contemporary Art, RTMark
and Tenant.net.
Among many others, artists and projects associated with thing.net have included Sawad Brooks
, Heath Bunting
, Cercle Ramo Nash, Vuk Cosic
, Ricardo Dominguez
, etoy
, GH Hovagimyan, Jérôme Joy, John Klima
, Jenny Marketou, Mariko Mori
, Olivier Mosset
, Prema Murty, Mark Napier
, Joseph Nechvatal
, Phil Niblock, Daniel Pflumm, Francesca da Rimini
, Beat Streuli
and Beth Stryker.
This article incorporates text from "About: The Thing" and "Wolfgang Staehle: Resume", publications released into public domain
by their author.
Wolfgang Staehle
Wolfgang Staehle is an early pioneer of net.art in the United States, known for his video streaming of the collapse of the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001.-Education:...
. The Thing was launched as a mailbox system accessible over the telephone network in New York feeding a Bulletin Board System
Bulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
(BBS) in 1991 before their website was launched in 1995 on the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
. By the late 1990s, The Thing grew into a diverse online community made up of dozens of members' Web sites, mailing lists, a successful Web hosting service, a community studio in Chelsea (NYC), and the first Web site devoted to Net Art: bbs.thing.net.
The Thing BBS (1991)
In 1991, The Thing began as a Bulletin Board SystemBulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
(BBS) focusing on contemporary art and cultural theory. In 1990, the writer and critic Blackhawk (having recently produced the film Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
) taught Wolfgang Staehle many of the abilities he needed to start the original The Thing BBS. Blackhawk was the first person Staehle turned to after conceiving the idea for an electronic culture resource based on the model of Joseph Beuys
Joseph Beuys
Joseph Beuys was a German performance artist, sculptor, installation artist, graphic artist, art theorist and pedagogue of art.His extensive work is grounded in concepts of humanism, social philosophy and anthroposophy; it culminates in his "extended definition of art" and the idea of social...
's Social sculpture
Social sculpture
Social sculpture is a specific example of the extended concept of art, that was advocated by the conceptual artist and politician Joseph Beuys. Beuys created the term Social Sculpture to illustrate his idea of art's potential to transform society. As an artwork it includes human activity, that...
. Blackhawk and Wolfgang jointly set up the editorial structure of the original BBS and planned for many of the then experimental activities that took place. Other people who helped develop and shape the content of the early BBS included Josefina Ayerza
Josefina Ayerza
Josefina Ayerza is a writer and a psychoanalyst who lives and works in New York City. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the 70’s she moved to Paris and then settled in NYC where she established a private practice – J...
, Dike Blair
Dike Blair
Dike Blair is an American artist.He graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with an M.F.A., in 1977.He lives in New York City.-Exhibitions:*2010 Gagosian Gallery, New York...
, Donald Newman, Jordan Crandall, David Platzker, Josh Decter, Rainer Ganahl
Rainer Ganahl
Rainer Ganahl is an Austrian born artist. His work consists of photographs, videos and performances.-Life:From 1986 until 1991, he studied at the University of Applied Arts Vienna and the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf...
, Julia Scher
Julia Scher
Julia Scher is an American artist who works primarily with themes of surveillance. She uses a variety of mediums and is most known for her installation art and performance art works. Her work addresses issues of control and seduction....
, Barry Schwabsky, Morgan Garwood, Franz von Stauffenberg and Benjamin Weil.
A second node, The Thing Cologne, was added in 1992, followed by The Thing Vienna in November 1993. Nodes in Berlin and elsewhere were soon to follow.
The Thing on the Web (1995)
The Thing changed its form when a website was created for a presentation at the 1995 Ars ElectronicaArs Electronica
Ars Electronica is an organization based in Linz, Austria, founded in 1979 around a festival for art, technology and society that was part of the International Bruckner Festival. Herbert W. Franke is one of its founders. It became its own festival and a yearly event in 1986. Its director until 1995...
. Credits on the 1995 website also name Nicky Chaikin, John F. Simon Jr.
John F. Simon Jr.
John F. Simon Jr. , is a new media artist who works with LCD screens and computer programming. He currently lives and works in New York....
, Wolfgang Staehle
Wolfgang Staehle
Wolfgang Staehle is an early pioneer of net.art in the United States, known for his video streaming of the collapse of the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001.-Education:...
, Rob Keenan, Darryl Erentzen and John Rabasa.
In 1995 The Thing set up an independent art network with hardware of its own that offered arts communities ways to establish themselves, to send information to one another and also to conceive of new artistic practices deriving from conceptual art
Conceptual art
Conceptual art is art in which the concept or idea involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. Many of the works, sometimes called installations, of the artist Sol LeWitt may be constructed by anyone simply by following a set of written instructions...
and from performance art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
. The idea was that working with the Internet was a way to operate around the institutions of art distribution of the day.
In 1998 Max Kossatz designed The Thing Communicator a website mimicking many functions of the original BBS including member login, chat and messaging.
The most interactive area of The Thing consisted of various message boards offering forums for art theory debate, news and gossip, ongoing dialogue and an open-access flow of information as well as several online versions of art journals.
Alongside discussion forums The Thing has offered artworks in the form of graphics
Graphics
Graphics are visual presentations on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, computer screen, paper, or stone to brand, inform, illustrate, or entertain. Examples are photographs, drawings, Line Art, graphs, diagrams, typography, numbers, symbols, geometric designs, maps, engineering drawings,or...
downloadable to the home personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
– for example by Peter Halley
Peter Halley
-Early Life and Career:Halley first came to prominence as a result of the geometric paintings rendered in intense day-glo colours that he produced in the early 1980s. His practice as an artist is usually associated with minimalism, neo-geo, and neo-conceptualism...
.
thing.net communities
The Thing has enabled a diverse group of artists, critics, curators, and activists to use the internet in its early stages. At its core, The Thing is a social networkSocial network
A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...
, made up of individuals from diverse backgrounds with a wide range of expert knowledge. From this social hub, The Thing has built an array of programs and initiatives, in both technological and cultural networks. During its first five years, TT became widely recognized as one of the founding and leading online centers for new media
New media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
culture. Its activities include hosting artists' projects and mailing lists - as well as publishing cultural criticism.
The Thing has also organized many public events and symposia on such topics as the state of new media
New media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
arts, the preservation of online privacy, artistic innovations in robotics
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
, and the possibilities of community empowerment through wireless technologies.
In 1997, thing.net communications, LLC, an Internet Service Provider (ISP) was incorporated by Wolfgang Staehle, Gisela Ehrenfried and Max Kossatz. The ISP was to provide a financial backbone for The Thing Inc. (a 501 c 3 non profit organization). thing.net has hosted arts and activist groups and publications including P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Artforum
Artforum
Artforum is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art.-Publication:The magazine is published ten times a year, September through May, along with an annual summer issue...
, Mabou Mines
Mabou Mines
Mabou Mines is an avant-garde theatre company founded in 1970 and based in New York City.-History:Mabou Mines is a collaborative, avant-garde theater company based in New York City...
, Willoughby Sharp
Willoughby Sharp
Willoughby Sharp was an internationally known artist, independent curator, independent publisher, gallerist, teacher, author, and telecom activist. In 1968, Sharp co-founded Avalanche magazine with writer/filmmaker Liza Béar...
Gallery, Zingmagazine
Zingmagazine
zingmagazine is a reverent contemporary art magazine founded in 1995 by artist Devon Dikeou. zing began as a quarterly, black and white magazine. Its first issue contained projects by Kenny Schachter, Gordon Tapper, Ed Web, Gregory Volk, Donald Fergusson, Michael Corris, Amy Sillman, and Susan...
, Journal of Contemporary Art, RTMark
RTMark
RTMark is an activist collective that subverts the "Corporate Shield" protecting US corporations. The name is derived from "Registered Trademark"....
and Tenant.net.
Among many others, artists and projects associated with thing.net have included Sawad Brooks
Sawad Brooks
Sawad Brooks is a designer and an artist. He is part of bbc art + architecture, a Finalist in the World Trade Center Memorial Design Competition....
, Heath Bunting
Heath Bunting
Heath Bunting is a contemporary British artist born in 1966. Based in Bristol, he is the founder of the site and was one of the early practitioners in the 1990s of Net.art . Bunting's work is based on creating open and democratic systems by modifying communications technologies and social...
, Cercle Ramo Nash, Vuk Cosic
Vuk Cosic
Vuk Ćosić , graduated from Univerzitet u BeograduThe university of Belgrade and earned a BA in Archaeology in 1991, emigrating that year to Trieste, Italy, and the following year to the newly independent Slovenia....
, Ricardo Dominguez
Ricardo Dominguez (professor)
Ricardo Dominguez is an artist and associate professor of visual arts at UC San Diego. He has been the subject of controversy over a number of acts of electronic civil disobedience on his own and with the Electronic Disturbance Theater, which he co-founded.Dominguez, the founder of the Electronic...
, etoy
Etoy
Etoy is a European digital art group. Etoy won several international awards including the Prix Ars Electronica in 1996. Their main slogan is: "leaving reality behind."...
, GH Hovagimyan, Jérôme Joy, John Klima
John Klima (artist)
John Klima is an American new media artist, who uses hand-built electronics, computer hardware and software to create online and in gallery artworks....
, Jenny Marketou, Mariko Mori
Mariko Mori
Mariko Mori is a Japanese video and photographic artist. While studying at Bunka Fashion College, she worked as a fashion model in the late 1980s. This strongly influenced her early works, such as Play with Me, in which she takes control of her role in the image, becoming an exotic, alien...
, Olivier Mosset
Olivier Mosset
Olivier Mosset is a Swiss visual artist. He lives and works in Tucson, Arizona.Mosset has spent considerable time in New York and Paris. In Paris in the ’60s he was a member of the BMPT group, along with Daniel Buren, Michel Parmentier, and Niele Toroni...
, Prema Murty, Mark Napier
Mark Napier (artist)
Mark Napier is an early pioneer of net.art in the United States, known for creating interactive online artwork that challenged traditional definitions of art...
, Joseph Nechvatal
Joseph Nechvatal
Joseph Nechvatal is a post-conceptual art digital artist and art theoretician who creates computer-assisted paintings and computer animations, often using custom-created computer viruses.-Life and work:Joseph Nechvatal was born in Chicago...
, Phil Niblock, Daniel Pflumm, Francesca da Rimini
Francesca da Rimini
Francesca da Rimini or Francesca da Polenta was the daughter of Guido da Polenta, lord of Ravenna. She was a historical contemporary of Dante Alighieri, who portrayed her as a character in the Divine Comedy.-Arranged marriage:...
, Beat Streuli
Beat Streuli
Beat Streuli is a Swiss visual artist who works with photo and video based media. His photographs, videos and window installations have been exhibited in galleries and museums internationally...
and Beth Stryker.
The Thing global
- The Thing Amsterdam was founded by Walter van der Cruijsen
- The Thing Basel was founded by Barbara Strebel and Rik Gelles
- The Thing Berlin was founded Ulf Schleth
- The Thing Cologne was founded by Michael Krome
- The Thing Düsseldorf was founded by Jörg Sasse
- The Thing Frankfurt was founded by Andreas Kallfelz
- The Thing Hamburg (1993–94) was founded by Hans-Joachim Lenger
- The Thing Hamburg (2006–2009) was founded by the local art association "THE THING HAMBURG"
- The Thing London was founded by Andreas Ruethi
- The Thing New York was founded by Wolfgang Staehle
- The Thing Stockholm was founded by Magnus Borg
- The Thing Vienna was founded by Helmut Mark and Max Kossatz
- The Thing Roma was founded by Marco Deseriis and Giuseppe Marano
Footnotes
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
by their author.
External links
- http://thing.net/ (current url)
- http://old.thing.net/ (1991)
- http://www.thething.it/
- http://www.ecn.org/thingnet/frameset.html (Roma)
- http://www.thing-hamburg.de/ (Hamburg)
- http://www.thing-frankfurt.de/ (http://www.thing-net.de/) (Frankfurt)
- http://www.thing.de/ (Berlin)
- http://www.thing.at/ (Vienna)
- http://www.thing.desk.nl/ (Amsterdam)
- http://www.thing.ch/ (Basel, closed)